The use of air quotes around 'scandal' is intentional, because I don't really think it's a scandal. But as we've learned from our friends on the Left -- many, many times in the last few years -- one doesn't need a real scandal to whip up a totally disingenuous, synthetic panic designed to delegitimize ideologically un-aligned members of the court. According to their rules, if they can make something sound or look bad, shorn of any actual standards or context, it's the appearance of impropriety that can be declared "disturbing" and "unethical," or whatever.
So let's apply their capricious framing to this story. Can you believe this ethics scandal engulfing liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson?
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was gifted four concert tickets by pop superstar Beyoncé valued at $3,700, according to a financial disclosure. The Biden appointee also disclosed a $900,000 advance for her upcoming memoir "Lovely One" out in September, and two gifts of artwork in her chambers worth $12,500. The disclosures were part of an annual filing deadline for the justices, which all met except for Samuel Alito who asked for an extension, according to The Hill...Last year, Jackson, who was appointed to the court in 2022, also had a couple of eye-popping filings, including more than $6,500 in clothes from a photo shoot and a $1,200 flower display from Oprah Winfrey, according to The Hill.
This Supreme Court Justice is accepting lavish gifts from her powerful and influential multi-millionaire and billionaire friends. This is deeply concerning because argle bargle. She has disclosed these figures, and does not appear to have violated any ethics rules, but it's still concerning, and the optics are very problematic because huffle puff. Whether this is technically a breach of any guidelines is irrelevant because it casts an ethical shadow over the justice and indeed the entire Court because waaaaahhh. Let me write some words like "reform" and "recuse" and "investigation" here in order to convey how super serious this is. More thoughts:
can we do a fake panic over this? are we allowed to dox her/go to her house? what are the rules? https://t.co/hqfYlWW9Gt
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 9, 2024
DID ANY OF HER FAMILY MEMBERS FLY A BEYONCÉ FLAG???
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 9, 2024
I’m sure Senator Whiteclub, after looking up what a “Beyoncé” is, will get right on it.
I've seen some lefties respond that KBJ should recuse herself if Beyonce ever has business before the Court, and I agree. They think it's a 'gotcha' comeback, but it's really not:
Neither do Harlan Crow or Mrs. Alito or Mrs. Thomas. https://t.co/rBrwQMUmd1
— Ramesh Ponnuru (@RameshPonnuru) June 10, 2024
But that's all different, you see, because urgently stated reasons-adjacent words. It's worth recalling that Justice Sotomayor took seven figures from a company, then refused to recuse herself when that company did have business before the Court, and none of the fake panickers said a damn thing about that, so [shrug emoji]. There was also this report that elicited exactly zero outrage among the usual SCOTUS outrage mongers. The fraudulent 'ethics' watchdogs are just tying to dirty up justices they hate, and to undermine the credibility of an institution they see as an obstacle to their designs on society power and control. That's it. I'll leave you with the latest bogus nonsense they're trying to peddle:
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The only people who will be surprised by Alito on this are the people that were surprised (or feigned surprise) that he had a revolutionary war era flag about “appealing to heaven.“ https://t.co/9f8qXPVbTx
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) June 10, 2024
Windsor’s tweet, though brief, is a lie. Alito does not “admit” he cannot be impartial in legal cases and was not talking about one side or the other winning in the courts. He was asked a broader question.
— Ramesh Ponnuru (@RameshPonnuru) June 10, 2024
Reminded by @willrjost that Windsor was behind the Tiki Torchers for Youngkim scam (which backfired hilariously) https://t.co/z8lpMfkssI
— Ramesh Ponnuru (@RameshPonnuru) June 10, 2024
It's yet more deeply dishonest, partisan hyperventilating and hysteria Conservatives should aggressively combat it, and the Court should ignore it and continue doing its job.
